Food · 8 min read

In Kannur for Theyyam: must-try foods and where to eat them

By Aadi · Updated 26 May 2026

A Theyyam night is long, and the days around it are for eating well. Kannur and Thalassery have one of the most distinctive food cultures in Kerala: rice cakes and plantain sweets for tea, a biryani that has its own name, and fried seafood served on banana leaves. Here is what to try, and where to start looking.

Tea-time snacks

Kannur’s tea shops are the place to start. The region is known for sweet and savoury snacks that were made at home before they reached the shop counter, many of them from the Malabar Muslim kitchen. They are usually eaten with tea in the late afternoon, which is a good slot before a night at a shrine.

Kalathappam

A sweet rice cake steamed in a vessel, with onion, coconut flakes and cashew nuts. The onion means it does not keep, so eat it on the day you buy it. It is a classic Kannur snack.

Kinnathappam

A cousin of Kalathappam, steamed in a plate (kinnam), made with rice batter, jaggery and split fried Bengal gram. It keeps for several days if stored dry, so it is the one to carry home.

Kai pola

A flourless cake made with ripe plantains and eggs, cooked slowly in ghee and topped with fried cashews and raisins. Kai pola is a Malabar favourite, common at tea time and at Ramadan evening meals. It belongs to the wider family of polas, which includes versions made with semolina or spiced minced meat.

Unnakkaya

A fried ripe plantain stuffed with cashew, egg, sugar and cardamom. You will find it at nearly every tea shop in Kannur.

Muttamala and Elanchi

Muttamala is a Malabar sweet of fine, golden strands made from egg yolk, usually served in a sugar syrup. Elanchi is a thin, sweet pancake that is rolled up.

Savoury snacks

• Chatti pathiri: layers of thin rice pancakes baked with a spiced filling, a little like lasagne, and a Malabar Muslim speciality.
• Irachi pathiri: a rice pathiri filled with spiced meat.
• Kannur bonda: a deep-fried ball of spiced, mashed potato with turmeric, ginger and green chilli. A sweet version, sometimes called undakkai, is stuffed with banana or dates.

Tea cake and the bakery tradition

Cake is part of everyday life here, not only at Christmas. Thalassery’s bakeries go back to the 1880s, and the town is credited with India’s first Christmas plum cake; read more in Thalassery: Theyyam, cake, circus and cricket. The Malabar polas above are also cakes in their own way, cooked in a pan rather than an oven. Ask at a local bakery or tea shop what is fresh that day.

Thalassery biryani

Thalassery biryani is the one dish most visitors have heard of. It is made in the dum style, where the masala and the rice are cooked separately and then layered and sealed to finish. The rice is a short-grained local variety, often called jeerakasala or khyma, which gives it a different smell and texture from the long-grained biryanis of the north.

Where to try it:

• Paris Restaurant, Thalassery: an old-school place on Mattampram Road, widely named by local guides. The fish biryani is also recommended.
• Rara Avis, Thalassery: at Manavatty junction, known for a lighter biryani made with a local chicken.
• NMR: our team’s suggestion. Reviews vary, so ask whether the biryani is cooked dum style before you order.

Standards and hours change, so check recent reviews or ask your host on the day.

Seafood

The coast is close and the fish is fresh. Fried seafood is served with rice and fish curry on a banana leaf.

Odhens

Hotel Odhens in Kannur (also spelt Onden or Othenan) is famous for lunch. It opens only for lunch, roughly noon to three, and there is usually a queue. Reviewers describe fish spiced and fried in coconut oil on iron tawas, and served on a banana leaf at shared tables. The usual order is seer fish (ayakoora), pomfret (avoli), prawns, squid and mussels, with a fish curry meal.

Kallumakkaya

Mussels, fried or stuffed with spiced rice, are the dish most closely linked with North Malabar’s food. They are served at seafood places across Kannur and Thalassery.

Other places

Pulari, on Sub Jail Road near South Bazar in Kannur, is another seafood place that serves fish at breakfast as well as lunch.

More to eat

• Malabar beef roast: a regional favourite, usually served with parotta.
• Banana-leaf meals: at local restaurants a simple rice meal with fish curry, vegetables and pickle is the best value of the day.

Eating around a ritual night

Rituals run late, so plan your meals around them: a good lunch, tea and a snack in the late afternoon, and a light dinner. Some shrines offer a meal to those present. If you are offered one, accept it with thanks as a guest, and ask your host or guide before you take food into the shrine grounds. Read Theyyam etiquette before you go.

Quick answers

What is the most famous food in Kannur and Thalassery?

Thalassery biryani is the best known, followed by fried seafood on a banana leaf and the region's rice cakes and plantain snacks, such as Kalathappam, Kinnathappam and Unnakkaya.

What is Kalathappam?

A sweet steamed rice cake from Kannur made with onion, coconut flakes and cashew nuts. It does not keep well, so it is best eaten fresh, within a day.

What is Kai pola?

A flourless Malabar cake made from ripe plantains and eggs, cooked slowly in ghee and topped with fried cashews and raisins. It is a common tea-time and Ramadan snack.

Where can I eat Thalassery biryani?

In Thalassery itself. Local guides often name Paris Restaurant and Rara Avis, and our team also suggests NMR. Ask whether the biryani is cooked dum style before you order.

Is there vegetarian food in Kannur?

Yes. Most of the snacks in this guide, including Kalathappam, Kinnathappam, Unnakkaya and Elanchi, contain no meat or fish. Some contain egg, so tell your guide what you eat.

Can I eat at a Theyyam?

Some shrines offer a meal to those present. Accept it as a guest only when you are invited, and ask your host or guide first.